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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
QCEW QCEW Program Links

County Employment and Wages News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, July 7, 2010 USDL-10-0932 
 
Technical Information:  (202) 691-6567  *  QCEWInfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cew 
Media Contact:  (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov 
 
 
County Employment and Wages 
Fourth Quarter 2009 
 
 
From December 2008 to December 2009, employment declined in 325 of 
the 334 largest U.S. counties according to preliminary data, the U.S. 
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Trumbull, Ohio, posted the 
largest percentage decline, with a loss of 8.6 percent over the year, 
compared with a national job decrease of 4.1 percent. Almost 54 
percent of the employment decline in Trumbull occurred in 
manufacturing, which lost 3,504 jobs over the year (-22.7 percent). 
Arlington, Va., experienced the largest over-the-year percentage 
increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a 
gain of 0.5 percent.  
 
The U.S. average weekly wage increased by 2.5 percent over the year.  
Among the large counties in the U.S., Douglas, Colo., had the largest 
over-the-year increase in average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 
of 2009, with a gain of 26.1 percent. Within Douglas, professional 
and business services had the largest over-the-year increase in 
average weekly wages with a gain of 99.8 percent. A fourth-quarter 
acquisition in this industry resulted in large payouts, which may 
include bonuses, severance pay, and stock options. St. Louis City, 
Mo., experienced the largest decline in average weekly wages with a 
loss of 33.9 percent over the year. This decline reflects a return 
from very high levels in 2008 caused by an acquisition in 
professional and business services and manufacturing. 

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  |                                                                      |
  | A redesign of the County Employment and Wages news release will be   |
  | implemented with the first quarter 2010 release. Table 3, along with |
  | the associated text on the largest county by state, will be removed. |  
  |                                                                      | 
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   
 
Table A.  Top 10 large counties ranked by December 2009 employment, December 2008-09 employment 
decrease, and December 2008-09 percent decrease in employment  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Employment in large counties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      December 2009 employment    |      Decrease in employment,     |  Percent decrease in employment, 
            (thousands)           |          December 2008-09        |          December 2008-09
                                  |            (thousands)           |                  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  |                                  |                                  
 United States           128,334.9| United States            -5,521.5| United States                -4.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  |                                  |                                  
 Los Angeles, Calif.       3,926.0| Los Angeles, Calif.        -217.9| Trumbull, Ohio               -8.6
 Cook, Ill.                2,369.9| Maricopa, Ariz.            -113.0| Oakland, Mich.               -8.1
 New York, N.Y.            2,294.4| Cook, Ill.                 -111.1| Peoria, Ill.                 -8.0
 Harris, Texas             1,990.2| New York, N.Y.              -93.6| Seminole, Fla.               -7.9
 Maricopa, Ariz.           1,626.8| Harris, Texas               -90.0| Sedgwick, Kan.               -7.7
 Dallas, Texas             1,409.9| Orange, Calif.              -89.7| Tulare, Calif.               -7.6
 Orange, Calif.            1,361.4| San Diego, Calif.           -64.6| Winnebago, Ill.              -7.6
 San Diego, Calif.         1,245.3| Dallas, Texas               -63.6| Catawba, N.C.                -7.5
 King, Wash.               1,119.1| Clark, Nev.                 -60.7| Kern, Calif.                 -7.4
 Miami-Dade, Fla.            959.7| Santa Clara, Calif.         -56.8| Macomb, Mich.                -7.3
                                  |                                  |                                  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
Of the 334 largest counties in the United States (as measured by 2008 
annual average employment), 159 had over-the-year percentage declines 
in employment greater than or equal to the national average (-4.1 
percent) in December 2009, 166 large counties experienced smaller 
declines than the national average, and 3 counties experienced 
employment gains. The percent change in average weekly wages was 
equal to or greater than the national average (2.5 percent) in 196 of 
the largest U.S. counties and was below the national average in 133 
counties.  

The employment and average weekly wage data by county are compiled 
under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, 
also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from reports 
submitted by every employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) 
laws. The 9.1 million employer reports cover 128.3 million full- and 
part-time workers.  
 
Large County Employment 
 
In December 2009, national employment, as measured by the QCEW 
program, was 128.3 million, down by 4.1 percent from December 2008. 
The 334 U.S. counties with 75,000 or more employees accounted for 
71.4 percent of total U.S. employment and 77.1 percent of total 
wages. These 334 counties had a net job decline of 4,119,900 over the 
year, accounting for 74.6 percent of the overall U.S. employment 
decrease.  
 
Employment declined in 325 counties from December 2008 to December 
2009. The largest percentage decline in employment was in Trumbull, 
Ohio (-8.6 percent). Oakland, Mich., had the next largest percentage 
decline (-8.1 percent), followed by the counties of Peoria, Ill. 
(-8.0 percent), Seminole, Fla. (-7.9 percent), and Sedgwick, Kan. (-7.7 
percent). The largest decline in employment levels occurred in Los 
Angeles, Calif. (-217,900), followed by the counties of Maricopa, 
Ariz. (-113,000), Cook, Ill. (-111,100), New York, N.Y. (-93,600), 
and Harris, Texas (-90,000). (See table A.) Combined employment 
losses in these five counties over the year totaled 625,600, or 11.3 
percent of the employment decline for the U.S. as a whole. 

Table B.  Top 10 large counties ranked by fourth quarter 2009 average weekly wages, fourth quarter 2008-09 
increase in average weekly wages, and fourth quarter 2008-09 percent increase in average weekly wages 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Average weekly wage in large counties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Average weekly wage,      |    Increase in average weekly    |    Percent increase in average 
        fourth quarter 2009       |    wage, fourth quarter 2008-09  |        weekly wage, fourth
                                  |                                  |          quarter 2008-09
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  |                                  |                                  
 United States                $942| United States                 $23| United States                 2.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  |                                  |                                  
 New York, N.Y.             $1,878| Douglas, Colo.               $244| Douglas, Colo.               26.1
 Santa Clara, Calif.         1,699| Santa Clara, Calif.           129| Alachua, Fla.                10.1
 Washington, D.C.            1,614| Durham, N.C.                  108| Durham, N.C.                  9.5
 Fairfield, Conn.            1,607| Arlington, Va.                 87| Elkhart, Ind.                 8.6
 Arlington, Va.              1,594| Montgomery, Md.                76| Santa Clara, Calif.           8.2
 Suffolk, Mass.              1,565| Alachua, Fla.                  74| Montgomery, Ala.              8.0
 San Francisco, Calif.       1,539| Fairfax, Va.                   73| McLean, Ill.                  7.9
 Fairfax, Va.                1,489| Montgomery, Ala.               66| Okaloosa, Fla.                7.5
 San Mateo, Calif.           1,477| McLean, Ill.                   66| McLennan, Texas               7.4
 Morris, N.J.                1,429| Morris, N.J.                   64| Lucas, Ohio                   7.0
                                  | Montgomery, Pa.                64|                                  
                                  |                                  |                                  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Employment rose in three of the large counties from December 2008 to 
December 2009. Arlington, Va., had the largest over-the-year 
percentage increase in employment (0.5 percent), followed by Bronx, 
N.Y., and Kings, N.Y. (0.2 percent each).  
 
Large County Average Weekly Wages 
 
Average weekly wages for the nation increased by 2.5 percent over the 
year ending in the fourth quarter of 2009. Among the 334 largest 
counties, 305 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in 
the fourth quarter. The largest wage gain occurred in Douglas, Colo., 
with an increase of 26.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008. 
Alachua, Fla., had the second largest gain (10.1 percent), followed 
by the counties of Durham, N.C. (9.5 percent), Elkhart, Ind. (8.6 
percent), and Santa Clara, Calif. (8.2 percent). (See table B.) 
 
Of the 334 largest counties, 23 experienced declines in average 
weekly wages. St. Louis City, Mo., led the nation in average weekly 
wage decline with a loss of 33.9 percent over the year. Within St. 
Louis City, large payouts related to an acquisition were distributed 
within professional and business services and manufacturing 
industries in the fourth quarter of 2008.  Manufacturing had the 
largest over-the-year decline in average weekly wages (-57.9 percent) 
followed by professional and business services (-56.2 percent). 
Somerset, N.J., had the second largest overall decline (-6.2 
percent), followed by the counties of Clayton, Ga. (-5.3 percent), 
Calcasieu, La. (-5.1 percent), and Lake, Ind. (-3.4 percent). 
 
The national average weekly wage in the fourth quarter of 2009 was 
$942. Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 
105 of the 334 largest U.S. counties. New York, N.Y., held the top 
position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly 
wage of $1,878. Santa Clara, Calif., was second with an average 
weekly wage of $1,699, followed by Washington, D.C. ($1,614), 
Fairfield, Conn. ($1,607), and Arlington, Va. ($1,594). There were 
226 counties with an average weekly wage below the national average 
in the fourth quarter of 2009. The lowest average weekly wage was 
reported in Horry, S.C. ($584), followed by the counties of Cameron, 
Texas, Hidalgo, Texas ($598 each), Webb, Texas ($619), and Yakima, 
Wash. ($640). (See table 1.) 
 
Average weekly wages are affected not only by changes in total wages 
but also by employment changes in high- and low-paying industries. 
(See Technical Note.) The 2.5-percent over-the-year increase in 
average weekly wages for the nation was partially due to large 
employment declines in low-paying industries such as trade, 
transportation, and utilities. (See table 2.)  
 
Ten Largest U.S. Counties 
 
All of the 10 largest counties (based on 2008 annual average 
employment levels) experienced over-the-year percent declines in 
employment in December 2009. Maricopa, Ariz., experienced the largest 
decline in employment among the 10 largest counties with a 6.5 
percent decrease. Within Maricopa, every private industry group 
except education and health services experienced an employment 
decline, with construction experiencing the largest decline (-28.5 
percent). (See table 2.) Orange, Calif., had the next largest decline 
in employment (-6.2 percent), followed by Los Angeles, Calif. (-5.3 
percent). New York, N.Y., experienced the smallest decline in 
employment (-3.9 percent) among the 10 largest counties. Dallas, 
Texas, and Harris, Texas, had the second smallest employment losses 
(-4.3 percent each).  
 
All of the 10 largest U.S. counties saw an over-the-year increase in 
average weekly wages. San Diego, Claif., experienced the largest 
increase in average weekly wages among the 10 largest counties with a 
gain of 3.7 percent. This average weekly wage growth was a result of 
a large employment loss in the professional and business services 
supersector. Employment dropped by 7.2 percent while total wages only 
dropped by 2.7 percent, thus average weekly wages for this 
supersector increased by 4.8 percent. San Diego’s average weekly wage 
growth was followed by King, Wash. (3.6 percent), and Maricopa, Ariz. 
(3.4 percent).  
 
Largest County by State 
 
Table 3 shows December 2009 employment and the 2009 fourth quarter 
average weekly wage in the largest county in each state, which is 
based on 2008 annual average employment levels. The employment levels 
in the counties ranged from 3.9 million in Los Angeles, Calif., to 
42,600 in Laramie, Wyo. The highest average weekly wage of these 
counties was in New York, N.Y. ($1,878), while the lowest average 
weekly wage was in Yellowstone, Mont. ($768).                     

For More Information 
 
The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and 
for the 334 U.S. counties with annual average employment levels of 
75,000 or more in 2008. December 2009 employment and 2009 fourth 
quarter average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 4 
of this release. 
 
For additional information about the quarterly employment and wages 
data, please read the Technical Note. Data for the fourth quarter of 
2009 will be available at http://www.bls.gov/cew/. Additional 
information about the QCEW data may be obtained by calling (202) 691-
6567. 
 
Several BLS regional offices are issuing QCEW news releases targeted 
to local data users. For links to these releases, see 
http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm. 
 
_____________  
The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2010 is 
scheduled to be released on Tuesday, October 19, 2010. 

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  |                                                                      |
  | The QCEW State and County Map application was released on June 30,   |
  | 2010 (http://beta.bls.gov/maps). This new feature of the BLS         |
  | website provides users with supersector industry employment and      |
  | wages at the national, state, and county levels. Data are presented  |
  | in map, tabular, and downloadable formats.                           |                              
  |                                                                      |
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   
   
   
   
                                     

Technical Note 
 
 
These data are the product of a federal-state cooperative program, the Quarterly 
Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. 
The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered 
by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State 
Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The summaries are a result of the administration of 
state unemployment insurance programs that require most employers to pay quarterly 
taxes based on the employment and wages of workers covered by UI. QCEW data in this 
release are based on the 2007 North American Industry Classification System. Data 
for 2009 are preliminary and subject to revision. 

For purposes of this release, large counties are defined as having employment le-
vels of 75,000 or greater. In addition, data for San Juan, Puerto Rico, are pro-
vided, but not used in calculating U.S. averages, rankings, or in the analysis in 
the text. Each year, these large counties are selected on the basis of the prelimi-
nary annual average of employment for the previous year. The 335 counties presented 
in this release were derived using 2008 preliminary annual averages of employment. 
For 2009 data, two counties have been added to the publication tables: Johnson, 
Iowa, and Gregg, Texas. These counties will be included in all 2009 quarterly re-
leases. Two counties, Boone, Ky., and St. Tammany, La., which were published in the 
2008 releases, will be excluded from this and future 2009 releases because their 
2008 annual average employment levels were less than 75,000. The counties in table 
2 are selected and sorted each year based on the annual average employment from the 
preceding year. 

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released 
by the individual states. These potential differences result from the states' con-
tinuing receipt of UI data over time and ongoing review and editing. The individual 
states determine their data release timetables. 
 
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures 

The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for 
any given quarter. Each of these measures--QCEW, Business Employment Dynamics (BED), 
and Current Employment Statistics (CES)--makes use of the quarterly UI employment 
reports in producing data; however, each measure has a somewhat different universe 
coverage, estimation procedure, and publication product. 

Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat different 
measures of employment change over time. It is important to understand program dif-
ferences and the intended uses of the program products. (See table.) Additional in-
formation on each program can be obtained from the program Web sites shown in the 
table. 

Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                     
            |         QCEW        |         BED          |         CES
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Source     |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey:
            |  strative records   |  nally-linked UI ad- |  400,000 establish-
            |  submitted by 9.1   |  ministrative records|  ments
            |  million establish- |  submitted by 6.8    |
            |  ments in first     |  million private-sec-|
            |  quarter of 2009    |  tor employers       |
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Coverage   |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
            |  age, including all |  ing government, pri-|  ary jobs:
            |  employers subject  |  vate households, and|--UI coverage, exclud-
            |  to state and fed-  |  establishments with |  ing agriculture, pri-
            |  eral UI laws       |  zero employment     |  vate households, and
            |                     |                      |  self-employed workers
            |                     |                      |--Other employment, in-
            |                     |                      |  cluding railroads, 
            |                     |                      |  religious organiza-
            |                     |                      |  tions, and other non-
            |                     |                      |  UI-covered jobs
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Publication|--Quarterly          |--Quarterly           |--Monthly 
 frequency  |  -7 months after the|  -8 months after the |  -Usually first Friday
            |   end of each quar- |   end of each quarter|   of following month
            |   ter               |                      |
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Use of UI  |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI   |--Uses UI file as a sam-
 file       |  and publishes each |  quarter to longitu- |  pling frame and annu-
            |  new quarter of UI  |  dinal database and  |  ally realigns (bench-
            |  data               |  directly summarizes |  marks) sample esti-
            |                     |  gross job gains and |  mates to first quar-
            |                     |  losses              |  ter UI levels
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Principal  |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly  |--Provides current month-
 products   |  ly and annual uni- |  employer dynamics   |  ly estimates of employ-
            |  verse count of es- |  data on establish-  |  ment, hours, and earn-
            |  tablishments, em-  |  ment openings, clos-|  ings at the MSA, state,
            |  ployment, and wages|  ings, expansions,   |  and national level by
            |  at the county, MSA,|  and contractions at |  industry
            |  state, and national|  the national level  |
            |  levels by detailed |  by NAICS supersec-  |
            |  industry           |  tors and by size of |
            |                     |  firm, and at the    |
            |                     |  state private-sector|
            |                     |  total level         |
            |                     |--Future expansions   |
            |                     |  will include data   |
            |                     |  with greater indus- |
            |                     |  try detail and data |
            |                     |  at the county and   |  
            |                     |  MSA level           |
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Principal  |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
 uses       |  -Detailed locality |  -Business cycle     |  -Principal national
            |   data              |   analysis           |   economic indicator
            |  -Periodic universe |  -Analysis of employ-|  -Official time series 
            |   counts for bench- |   er dynamics under- |   for employment change
            |   marking sample    |   lying economic ex- |   measures
            |   survey estimates  |   pansions and con-  |  -Input into other ma-
            |  -Sample frame for  |   tractions          |   jor economic indi-
            |   BLS establishment |  -Analysis of employ-|   cators
            |   surveys           |   ment expansion and |
            |                     |   contraction by size|   
            |                     |   of firm            |
            |                     |                      |
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Program    |--www.bls.gov/cew/   |--www.bls.gov/bdm/    |--www.bls.gov/ces/
 Web sites  |                     |                      |
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
 
Coverage 

Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI laws are compiled from 
quarterly contribution reports submitted to the SWAs by employers. For federal ci-
vilian workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees 
(UCFE) program, employment and wage data are compiled from quarterly reports sub-
mitted by four major federal payroll processing centers on behalf of all federal 
agencies, with the exception of a few agencies which still report directly to the 
individual SWA. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers who 
operate multiple establishments within a state complete a questionnaire, called the 
"Multiple Worksite Report," which provides detailed information on the location and 
industry of each of their establishments. QCEW employment and wage data are derived 
from microdata summaries of 9.1 million employer reports of employment and wages 
submitted by states to the BLS in 2008. These reports are based on place of employ-
ment rather than place of residence. 

UI and UCFE coverage is broad and has been basically comparable from state to state 
since 1978, when the 1976 amendments to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act became ef-
fective, expanding coverage to include most State and local government employees. 
In 2008, UI and UCFE programs covered workers in 134.8 million jobs. The estimated 
129.4 million workers in these jobs (after adjustment for multiple jobholders) 
represented 95.5 percent of civilian wage and salary employment. Covered workers 
received $6.142 trillion in pay, representing 93.8 percent of the wage and salary 
component of personal income and 42.5 percent of the gross domestic product. 

Major exclusions from UI coverage include self-employed workers, most agricultural 
workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most 
states, most employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at 
schools, and employees of certain small nonprofit organizations. 

State and federal UI laws change periodically. These changes may have an impact on 
the employment and wages reported by employers covered under the UI program. Cover-
age changes may affect the over-the-year comparisons presented in this news re-
lease. 
 
Concepts and methodology 

Monthly employment is based on the number of workers who worked during or received 
pay for the pay period including the 12th of the month. With few exceptions, all 
employees of covered firms are reported, including production and sales workers, 
corporation officials, executives, supervisory personnel, and clerical workers.  
Workers on paid vacations and part-time workers also are included. 

Average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the 
average of the three monthly employment levels (all employees, as described above) 
and dividing the result by 13, for the 13 weeks in the quarter. These calculations 
are made using unrounded employment and wage values. The average wage values that 
can be calculated using rounded data from the BLS database may differ from the av-
erages reported. Included in the quarterly wage data are non-wage cash payments 
such as bonuses, the cash value of meals and lodging when supplied, tips and other 
gratuities, and, in some states, employer contributions to certain deferred compen-
sation plans such as 401(k) plans and stock options. Over-the-year comparisons of 
average weekly wages may reflect fluctuations in average monthly employment and/or 
total quarterly wages between the current quarter and prior year levels. 

Average weekly wages are affected by the ratio of full-time to part-time workers as 
well as the number of individuals in high-paying and low-paying occupations and the 
incidence of pay periods within a quarter. For instance, the average weekly wage of 
the work force could increase significantly when there is a large decline in the 
number of employees that had been receiving below-average wages. Wages may include 
payments to workers not present in the employment counts because they did not work 
during the pay period including the 12th of the month. When comparing average week-
ly wage levels between industries, states, or quarters, these factors should be 
taken into consideration. 

Federal government pay levels are subject to periodic, sometimes large, fluctua-
tions due to a calendar effect that consists of some quarters having more pay pe-
riods than others. Most federal employees are paid on a biweekly pay schedule. As a 
result of this schedule, in some quarters, federal wages contain payments for six 
pay periods, while in other quarters their wages include payments for seven pay pe-
riods. Over-the-year comparisons of average weekly wages may reflect this calendar 
effect. Higher growth in average weekly wages may be attributed, in part, to a com-
parison of quarterly wages for the current year, which include seven pay periods, 
with year-ago wages that reflect only six pay periods. An opposite effect will oc-
cur when wages in the current period, which contain six pay periods, are compared 
with year-ago wages that include seven pay periods. The effect on over-the-year pay 
comparisons can be pronounced in federal government due to the uniform nature of 
federal payroll processing. This pattern may exist in private sector pay; however, 
because there are more pay period types (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly) it 
is less pronounced. The effect is most visible in counties with large concentra-
tions of federal employment. 

In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, states verify with employ-
ers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and ownership classification 
of all establishments on a 4-year cycle. Changes in establishment classification 
codes resulting from this process are introduced with the data reported for the 
first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from improved employer reporting also 
are introduced in the first quarter. 

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of indi-
vidual establishment records and reflect the number of establishments that exist in 
a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a 
county or industry for a number of reasons--some reflecting economic events, others 
reflecting administrative changes. For example, economic change would come from a 
firm relocating into the county; administrative change would come from a company 
correcting its county designation. 

The over-the-year changes of employment and wages presented in this release have 
been adjusted to account for most of the administrative corrections made to the un-
derlying establishment reports. This is done by modifying the prior-year levels 
used to calculate the over-the-year changes. Percent changes are calculated using 
an adjusted version of the final 2008 quarterly data as the base data. The adjusted 
prior-year levels used to calculate the over-the-year percent change in employment 
and wages are not published. These adjusted prior-year levels do not match the un-
adjusted data maintained on the BLS Web site. Over-the-year change calculations 
based on data from the Web site, or from data published in prior BLS news releases, 
may differ substantially from the over-the-year changes presented in this news re-
lease. 

The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change measures presented in 
this release account for most of the administrative changes--those occurring when 
employers update the industry, location, and ownership information of their estab-
lishments. The most common adjustments for administrative change are the result of 
updated information about the county location of individual establishments. In-
cluded in these adjustments are administrative changes involving the classification 
of establishments that were previously reported in the unknown or statewide county 
or unknown industry categories. Beginning with the first quarter of 2008, adjusted 
data account for administrative changes caused by multi-unit employers who start 
reporting for each individual establishment rather than as a single entity. 

The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change measures presented in 
any County Employment and Wages news release are valid for comparisons between the 
starting and ending points (a 12-month period) used in that particular release. 
Comparisons may not be valid for any time period other than the one featured in a 
release even if the changes were calculated using adjusted data.
 
County definitions are assigned according to Federal Information Processing Stan-
dards Publications (FIPS PUBS) as issued by the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, after approval by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to Section 5131 of 
the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 and the Computer Security 
Act of 1987, Public Law 104-106. Areas shown as counties include those designated 
as independent cities in some jurisdictions and, in Alaska, those designated as 
census areas where counties have not been created. County data also are presented 
for the New England states for comparative purposes even though townships are the 
more common designation used in New England (and New Jersey). The regions referred 
to in this release are defined as census regions. 
 
Additional statistics and other information 

An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive information by de-
tailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all 
states. The 2008 edition of this bulletin contains selected data produced by Busi-
ness Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data 
from the first quarter 2009 version of this news release. Tables and additional 
content from the 2008 Employment and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available online 
at http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn08.htm. These tables present final 2008 annual 
averages.  The tables are included on the CD which accompanies the hardcopy version 
of the Annual Bulletin.  Employment and Wages Annual Averages, 2008 is available 
for sale as a chartbook from the United States Government Printing Office, Superin-
tendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250, telephone (866) 512-
1800, outside Washington, D.C. Within Washington, D.C., the telephone number is 
(202) 512-1800. The fax number is (202) 512-2104. 

News releases on quarterly measures of gross job flows also are available upon re-
quest from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover (Business 
Employment Dynamics), telephone (202) 691-6467; (http://www.bls.gov/bdm/); (e-mail: 
BDMInfo@bls.gov). 

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals 
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-
800-877-8339.










Table 1. Covered(1) establishments, employment, and wages in the 335 largest counties,
fourth quarter 2009(2)
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
                                                     Employment               Average weekly wage(4)   
                                                                                                       
                          Establishments,                                                              
        County(3)          fourth quarter               Percent   Ranking            Percent   Ranking 
                                2009        December    change,      by    Average   change,      by   
                            (thousands)       2009     December   percent   weekly   fourth    percent 
                                          (thousands) 2008-09(5)   change    wage    quarter    change 
                                                                                   2008-09(5)          
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
United States(6).........       9,085.0     128,334.9      -4.1         -     $942       2.5         - 
                                                                                                       
Jefferson, AL............          18.1         336.1      -5.6       263      946       2.5       193 
Madison, AL..............           8.8         179.8      -1.6        20    1,047       4.9        41 
Mobile, AL...............           9.8         165.8      -5.1       241      828       2.5       193 
Montgomery, AL...........           6.4         130.0      -3.7       140      891       8.0         6 
Shelby, AL...............           4.8          70.7      -6.5       302      849       1.6       247 
Tuscaloosa, AL...........           4.4          82.2      -4.6       209      798       1.9       230 
Anchorage Borough, AK....           8.2         147.6      -0.3         6    1,005       3.5       114 
Maricopa, AZ.............          98.7       1,626.8      -6.5       302      923       3.4       119 
Pima, AZ.................          20.2         350.9      -4.8       221      829       3.4       119 
Benton, AR...............           5.5          90.9      -3.6       134      854       0.9       280 
                                                                                                       
Pulaski, AR..............          15.1         244.2      -2.7        64      863       1.6       247 
Washington, AR...........           5.6          89.0      -2.4        50      774       3.9        87 
Alameda, CA..............          54.3         628.3      -6.6       305    1,195       2.8       167 
Butte, CA................           8.0          71.4      -3.7       140      720       3.4       119 
Contra Costa, CA.........          30.0         318.4      -5.6       263    1,132       0.3       301 
Fresno, CA...............          30.9         323.7      -6.5       302      759       2.8       167 
Kern, CA.................          18.3         260.4      -7.4       320      820       2.0       227 
Los Angeles, CA..........         434.0       3,926.0      -5.3       248    1,099       2.0       227 
Marin, CA................          11.8         102.4      -5.6       263    1,163       1.0       276 
Monterey, CA.............          12.9         141.4      -7.0       312      821       2.4       197 
                                                                                                       
Orange, CA...............         102.8       1,361.4      -6.2       295    1,065       2.0       227 
Placer, CA...............          10.9         122.0      -7.0       312      920       3.0       141 
Riverside, CA............          48.4         559.7      -6.4       300      757       1.7       244 
Sacramento, CA...........          54.5         587.0      -4.1       170    1,019       1.3       262 
San Bernardino, CA.......          50.6         606.0      -5.8       276      806       2.3       208 
San Diego, CA............          99.4       1,245.3      -4.9       225    1,019       3.7       103 
San Francisco, CA........          52.9         548.0      -4.5       201    1,539       3.1       136 
San Joaquin, CA..........          17.8         202.3      -6.0       287      816       2.4       197 
San Luis Obispo, CA......           9.7          95.7      -6.1       289      798       4.2        74 
San Mateo, CA............          24.1         324.1      -5.2       245    1,477       2.6       180 
                                                                                                       
Santa Barbara, CA........          14.5         169.5      -6.2       295      895       3.2       129 
Santa Clara, CA..........          61.6         846.5      -6.3       297    1,699       8.2         5 
Santa Cruz, CA...........           9.2          86.4      -4.0       162      819      -0.2       308 
Solano, CA...............          10.2         120.5      -3.8       147      921       1.9       230 
Sonoma, CA...............          18.9         174.2      -6.3       297      886      -1.1       313 
Stanislaus, CA...........          15.2         155.5      -6.8       310      790       4.4        61 
Tulare, CA...............           9.6         140.9      -7.6       322      666       4.4        61 
Ventura, CA..............          24.0         295.5      -5.7       272      959       2.6       180 
Yolo, CA.................           6.0          93.7      -6.0       287      882      -0.1       307 
Adams, CO................           9.0         147.7      -5.3       248      849       1.4       257 
                                                                                                       
Arapahoe, CO.............          18.8         269.9      -3.8       147    1,094       3.8        96 
Boulder, CO..............          12.8         152.8      -3.8       147    1,069       3.2       129 
Denver, CO...............          25.0         420.2      -4.7       215    1,154       3.4       119 
Douglas, CO..............           9.3          89.9      -4.8       221    1,179      26.1         1 
El Paso, CO..............          16.8         232.7      -3.7       140      863       3.6       110 
Jefferson, CO............          18.0         202.9      -4.0       162      969       4.4        61 
Larimer, CO..............          10.1         124.6      -4.2       178      841       0.5       293 
Weld, CO.................           5.8          77.1      -6.6       305      772       1.3       262 
Fairfield, CT............          32.9         401.6      -4.5       201    1,607       0.7       288 
Hartford, CT.............          25.4         486.0      -3.8       147    1,153       3.6       110 
                                                                                                       
New Haven, CT............          22.4         353.3      -3.6       134    1,013       3.7       103 
New London, CT...........           7.0         125.7      -3.8       147      942       3.5       114 
New Castle, DE...........          17.8         264.6      -5.9       282    1,070       1.9       230 
Washington, DC...........          34.8         686.7      -0.1         4    1,614       2.7       173 
Alachua, FL..............           6.7         116.7      -4.1       170      810      10.1         2 
Brevard, FL..............          14.7         189.1      -4.0       162      897       4.3        67 
Broward, FL..............          63.3         689.2      -5.6       263      900       2.4       197 
Collier, FL..............          11.9         117.5      -6.6       305      832       2.7       173 
Duval, FL................          26.9         436.8      -4.5       201      911       3.9        87 
Escambia, FL.............           7.9         118.9      -3.3       107      760       5.6        22 
                                                                                                       
Hillsborough, FL.........          37.2         574.9      -6.1       289      927       5.8        17 
Lake, FL.................           7.3          80.4      -5.3       248      674       2.6       180 
Lee, FL..................          18.8         194.9      -5.6       263      781       2.9       153 
Leon, FL.................           8.2         139.1      -2.4        50      815       4.2        74 
Manatee, FL..............           9.2         111.8      -4.0       162      708       2.2       214 
Marion, FL...............           8.2          90.6       (7)         -      677       (7)         - 
Miami-Dade, FL...........          85.0         959.7      -4.5       201      949       2.9       153 
Okaloosa, FL.............           6.0          75.6      -2.2        41      791       7.5         8 
Orange, FL...............          35.4         648.2      -4.8       221      850       2.4       197 
Palm Beach, FL...........          49.5         500.2      -5.4       253      967       5.2        33 
                                                                                                       
Pasco, FL................           9.8          96.6      -4.4       196      680       1.8       241 
Pinellas, FL.............          31.0         389.2      -5.5       257      852       5.7        21 
Polk, FL.................          12.5         192.8      -4.4       196      734       4.0        83 
Sarasota, FL.............          14.8         134.6      -5.9       282      804       2.6       180 
Seminole, FL.............          14.2         156.2      -7.9       325      791       0.8       285 
Volusia, FL..............          13.6         151.0      -4.9       225      680       2.7       173 
Bibb, GA.................           4.6          79.4      -5.8       276      752       5.0        39 
Chatham, GA..............           7.7         127.9      -5.0       231      807       1.6       247 
Clayton, GA..............           4.4         107.3      -3.9       156      810      -5.3       327 
Cobb, GA.................          20.7         296.4      -5.7       272      974       0.9       280 
                                                                                                       
De Kalb, GA..............          17.6         278.8      -4.2       178      971       4.7        46 
Fulton, GA...............          39.3         697.4      -5.0       231    1,207       1.9       230 
Gwinnett, GA.............          23.6         294.5      -5.7       272      907       1.3       262 
Muscogee, GA.............           4.7          91.5      -3.9       156      757       5.1        35 
Richmond, GA.............           4.8          99.3      -2.4        50      793       3.4       119 
Honolulu, HI.............          25.0         435.3      -3.2       100      875       2.9       153 
Ada, ID..................          14.5         193.7      -4.9       225      824       1.5       252 
Champaign, IL............           4.2          89.3      -2.9        76      794       2.1       222 
Cook, IL.................         142.6       2,369.9      -4.5       201    1,142       2.1       222 
Du Page, IL..............          36.4         548.0      -5.9       282    1,082       2.2       214 
                                                                                                       
Kane, IL.................          12.9         190.3      -7.2       318      848       1.8       241 
Lake, IL.................          21.4         311.4      -5.1       241    1,197       4.9        41 
McHenry, IL..............           8.6          93.5      -7.0       312      789       0.9       280 
McLean, IL...............           3.7          83.7      -3.1        88      901       7.9         7 
Madison, IL..............           6.0          91.3      -4.5       201      801       4.2        74 
Peoria, IL...............           4.7          97.9      -8.0       326      895       2.8       167 
Rock Island, IL..........           3.5          74.4      -6.1       289    1,115       2.9       153 
St. Clair, IL............           5.5          93.9      -3.1        88      782       3.7       103 
Sangamon, IL.............           5.3         126.3      -2.3        47      928       3.5       114 
Will, IL.................          14.2         188.4      -4.3       184      837       1.2       268 
                                                                                                       
Winnebago, IL............           6.9         123.8      -7.6       322      797       2.7       173 
Allen, IN................           9.1         170.7      -4.7       215      774       3.3       126 
Elkhart, IN..............           4.9          96.4      -4.8       221      744       8.6         4 
Hamilton, IN.............           7.9         107.1      -5.1       241      873       2.2       214 
Lake, IN.................          10.3         183.6      -5.3       248      798      -3.4       325 
Marion, IN...............          24.0         547.0      -3.8       147      942       3.1       136 
St. Joseph, IN...........           6.1         114.9      -5.5       257      799       5.1        35 
Tippecanoe, IN...........           3.3          72.1      -6.8       310      800       3.8        96 
Vanderburgh, IN..........           4.8         104.7      -3.2       100      791       3.3       126 
Johnson, IA..............           3.5          74.5      -2.1        36      807       2.7       173 
                                                                                                       
Linn, IA.................           6.3         123.6      -3.0        85      885      -1.1       313 
Polk, IA.................          14.8         265.7      -3.1        88      933       3.1       136 
Scott, IA................           5.3          84.9      -4.6       209      763       1.6       247 
Johnson, KS..............          20.9         298.8      -5.0       231      982       3.4       119 
Sedgwick, KS.............          12.5         241.3      -7.7       324      872       3.3       126 
Shawnee, KS..............           4.9          92.9      -2.9        76      798       5.4        30 
Wyandotte, KS............           3.2          79.0      -1.5        17      890       4.3        67 
Fayette, KY..............           9.4         172.9      -2.9        76      846       1.7       244 
Jefferson, KY............          22.0         409.9      -3.2       100      908       4.2        74 
Caddo, LA................           7.5         121.9      -2.7        64      790       1.4       257 
                                                                                                       
Calcasieu, LA............           5.0          83.1      -5.4       253      783      -5.1       326 
East Baton Rouge, LA.....          14.7         259.1      -3.1        88      897       2.6       180 
Jefferson, LA............          14.2         194.5      -3.0        85      896       2.6       180 
Lafayette, LA............           9.1         129.6      -5.5       257      887      -2.6       324 
Orleans, LA..............          10.9         169.4      -1.5        17    1,007       0.5       293 
Cumberland, ME...........          12.3         168.0      -3.2       100      863       4.7        46 
Anne Arundel, MD.........          14.3         226.4      -3.1        88    1,019       5.6        22 
Baltimore, MD............          21.2         364.8      -3.4       117    1,004       4.0        83 
Frederick, MD............           5.9          91.4      -2.9        76      933       4.7        46 
Harford, MD..............           5.6          81.6      -1.1        11      896       6.2        12 
                                                                                                       
Howard, MD...............           8.7         143.0      -2.9        76    1,131       4.0        83 
Montgomery, MD...........          32.5         447.4      -2.1        36    1,294       6.2        12 
Prince Georges, MD.......          15.5         304.2      -3.4       117    1,032       3.8        96 
Baltimore City, MD.......          13.7         326.1      -3.4       117    1,113       1.2       268 
Barnstable, MA...........           9.0          82.7      -1.9        27      834       2.7       173 
Bristol, MA..............          15.6         207.4      -4.1       170      866       2.2       214 
Essex, MA................          21.0         293.0      -2.0        32    1,013       3.6       110 
Hampden, MA..............          14.8         192.3      -3.6       134      893       2.8       167 
Middlesex, MA............          47.9         803.0      -2.8        70    1,344       3.5       114 
Norfolk, MA..............          23.6         312.9      -3.4       117    1,151       0.5       293 
                                                                                                       
Plymouth, MA.............          13.6         171.3      -2.5        56      902       1.0       276 
Suffolk, MA..............          22.2         574.8      -3.5       128    1,565      -0.3       309 
Worcester, MA............          20.8         309.8      -3.0        85      947       1.6       247 
Genesee, MI..............           7.6         127.0      -5.5       257      826       3.0       141 
Ingham, MI...............           6.6         151.1      -4.3       184      913       3.0       141 
Kalamazoo, MI............           5.5         108.0      -4.6       209      842      -1.3       317 
Kent, MI.................          14.0         305.9      -5.0       231      855       2.4       197 
Macomb, MI...............          17.2         270.8      -7.3       319      976       1.0       276 
Oakland, MI..............          37.9         607.1      -8.1       327    1,093      -0.5       311 
Ottawa, MI...............           5.6          98.0      -5.9       282      787      -0.4       310 
                                                                                                       
Saginaw, MI..............           4.2          79.1       (7)         -      782       (7)         - 
Washtenaw, MI............           8.0         184.2      -1.8        24      981       1.0       276 
Wayne, MI................          31.1         662.6      -7.1       317    1,036       0.5       293 
Anoka, MN................           7.4         105.8      -6.6       305      858       2.3       208 
Dakota, MN...............          10.0         168.8      -2.6        62      920       2.6       180 
Hennepin, MN.............          40.7         802.6      -4.3       184    1,152       0.7       288 
Olmsted, MN..............           3.4          87.3      -2.8        70      994       1.9       230 
Ramsey, MN...............          14.5         316.0      -4.3       184    1,040       6.0        15 
St. Louis, MN............           5.7          92.2      -4.2       178      755      -0.7       312 
Stearns, MN..............           4.3          78.1      -3.3       107      747       5.8        17 
                                                                                                       
Harrison, MS.............           4.6          83.4      -2.1        36      718       2.3       208 
Hinds, MS................           6.3         125.0      -2.4        50      832       3.4       119 
Boone, MO................           4.5          81.2      -1.7        22      719       4.2        74 
Clay, MO.................           5.0          84.8      -5.2       245      856       4.3        67 
Greene, MO...............           8.0         149.2      -4.2       178      711       3.9        87 
Jackson, MO..............          18.5         351.2      -4.3       184      958       3.2       129 
St. Charles, MO..........           8.2         117.8      -4.1       170      739       0.8       285 
St. Louis, MO............          32.1         571.0      -4.7       215    1,006       1.5       252 
St. Louis City, MO.......           8.6         215.2       (7)         -      996     -33.9       329 
Yellowstone, MT..........           5.9          75.7      -3.4       117      768       3.9        87 
                                                                                                       
Douglas, NE..............          15.9         312.1      -3.1        88      874       3.9        87 
Lancaster, NE............           8.2         153.2      -3.9       156      750       3.2       129 
Clark, NV................          49.4         809.7      -7.0       312      872       1.9       230 
Washoe, NV...............          14.3         187.4      -7.0       312      868       0.1       304 
Hillsborough, NH.........          12.1         188.3      -3.9       156    1,065       0.2       303 
Rockingham, NH...........          10.8         131.9      -3.2       100      930       2.6       180 
Atlantic, NJ.............           7.0         133.3      -4.5       201      832       1.2       268 
Bergen, NJ...............          34.5         432.8      -3.8       147    1,205       1.7       244 
Burlington, NJ...........          11.4         194.6      -2.7        64    1,011       3.8        96 
Camden, NJ...............          13.0         198.8      -2.9        76    1,010       0.9       280 
                                                                                                       
Essex, NJ................          21.5         348.2      -2.7        64    1,211       2.7       173 
Gloucester, NJ...........           6.4         100.4      -4.3       184      865       1.3       262 
Hudson, NJ...............          14.1         232.4      -2.8        70    1,241       2.4       197 
Mercer, NJ...............          11.2         226.1      -2.2        41    1,224      -2.2       322 
Middlesex, NJ............          22.1         385.0      -3.4       117    1,160       1.4       257 
Monmouth, NJ.............          20.8         246.3      -3.3       107    1,032       1.3       262 
Morris, NJ...............          18.1         274.3      -3.5       128    1,429       4.7        46 
Ocean, NJ................          12.4         144.3      -1.3        13      816       2.6       180 
Passaic, NJ..............          12.5         171.3      -3.1        88      997       2.3       208 
Somerset, NJ.............          10.3         168.8      -3.3       107    1,413      -6.2       328 
                                                                                                       
Union, NJ................          14.9         221.3      -3.3       107    1,226       (7)         - 
Bernalillo, NM...........          17.5         317.3      -3.7       140      850       4.4        61 
Albany, NY...............           9.9         223.3      -2.6        62      963       1.9       230 
Bronx, NY................          16.4         232.7       0.2         2      919       3.5       114 
Broome, NY...............           4.5          92.7      -3.3       107      753       3.7       103 
Dutchess, NY.............           8.2         113.1      -2.8        70      942       4.7        46 
Erie, NY.................          23.5         453.4      -2.5        56      817       3.0       141 
Kings, NY................          48.3         488.8       0.2         2      830       1.2       268 
Monroe, NY...............          17.9         371.8      -2.9        76      887       3.0       141 
Nassau, NY...............          52.4         595.3      -2.2        41    1,101       4.3        67 
                                                                                                       
New York, NY.............         118.1       2,294.4      -3.9       156    1,878       1.1       273 
Oneida, NY...............           5.3         109.3      -2.3        47      745       3.2       129 
Onondaga, NY.............          12.7         246.1      -3.1        88      881       3.8        96 
Orange, NY...............           9.9         131.4      -1.3        13      799       2.8       167 
Queens, NY...............          44.2         499.4      -2.1        36      935       1.3       262 
Richmond, NY.............           8.8          94.6      -1.1        11      850       2.9       153 
Rockland, NY.............           9.8         114.3      -2.8        70      982      -2.1       321 
Saratoga, NY.............           5.4          74.6      -2.5        56      792       3.9        87 
Suffolk, NY..............          50.0         608.5      -3.1        88    1,044       0.3       301 
Westchester, NY..........          36.0         406.5      -4.0       162    1,288       4.4        61 
                                                                                                       
Buncombe, NC.............           7.8         110.7      -4.0       162      747       2.9       153 
Catawba, NC..............           4.4          77.3      -7.5       321      725       4.2        74 
Cumberland, NC...........           6.2         119.6      -1.4        15      749       5.5        27 
Durham, NC...............           7.1         177.3      -4.3       184    1,239       9.5         3 
Forsyth, NC..............           9.0         176.2      -4.6       209      849       2.9       153 
Guilford, NC.............          14.3         260.1      -5.4       253      823       3.0       141 
Mecklenburg, NC..........          32.3         534.2      -5.7       272    1,042       2.5       193 
New Hanover, NC..........           7.3          95.3      -5.8       276      798       5.6        22 
Wake, NC.................          28.5         430.7      -4.1       170      929       1.5       252 
Cass, ND.................           5.9          99.3      -1.4        15      795       2.1       222 
                                                                                                       
Butler, OH...............           7.3         138.2      -5.0       231      819       4.6        55 
Cuyahoga, OH.............          36.7         689.8      -4.7       215      939       1.2       268 
Franklin, OH.............          29.4         651.3      -3.7       140      918       4.3        67 
Hamilton, OH.............          23.5         488.6      -4.6       209    1,007       2.4       197 
Lake, OH.................           6.6          92.1      -6.7       309      777       2.8       167 
Lorain, OH...............           6.2          91.8      -4.1       170      742       0.0       306 
Lucas, OH................          10.5         198.5      -5.5       257      830       7.0        10 
Mahoning, OH.............           6.2          97.7      -2.7        64      683       1.9       230 
Montgomery, OH...........          12.5         242.1      -5.5       257      846       2.9       153 
Stark, OH................           8.9         149.2      -5.8       276      713       1.4       257 
                                                                                                       
Summit, OH...............          14.7         254.2      -6.3       297      842       2.1       222 
Trumbull, OH.............           4.6          68.9      -8.6       328      739      -1.3       317 
Warren, OH...............           4.2          71.7      -3.5       128      802       5.4        30 
Oklahoma, OK.............          24.1         408.0      -4.4       196      870       1.9       230 
Tulsa, OK................          19.8         331.0      -5.6       263      845       0.8       285 
Clackamas, OR............          12.6         138.5      -5.3       248      842       2.4       197 
Jackson, OR..............           6.5          76.2      -5.8       276      688       3.1       136 
Lane, OR.................          10.9         135.4      -5.9       282      729       2.5       193 
Marion, OR...............           9.3         130.4      -3.4       117      727       2.3       208 
Multnomah, OR............          28.1         421.9      -4.9       225      953       1.9       230 
                                                                                                       
Washington, OR...........          16.0         230.9      -5.0       231    1,031       4.5        58 
Allegheny, PA............          35.1         668.8      -2.4        50    1,003       2.9       153 
Berks, PA................           9.0         161.5      -3.8       147      849       3.8        96 
Bucks, PA................          19.7         249.3      -4.2       178      930       2.9       153 
Butler, PA...............           4.8          79.5      -1.6        20      831       3.0       141 
Chester, PA..............          15.0         236.1      -3.3       107    1,233       5.4        30 
Cumberland, PA...........           6.0         120.8      -3.4       117      869       6.0        15 
Dauphin, PA..............           7.4         177.8      -2.1        36      924       4.3        67 
Delaware, PA.............          13.5         205.2      -3.2       100      994       4.3        67 
Erie, PA.................           7.6         120.9      -4.3       184      735       0.7       288 
                                                                                                       
Lackawanna, PA...........           5.9          98.7      -2.9        76      736       3.1       136 
Lancaster, PA............          12.5         217.7      -4.2       178      789       2.2       214 
Lehigh, PA...............           8.7         170.4      -3.7       140      921       1.5       252 
Luzerne, PA..............           7.8         137.5      -3.4       117      735       5.6        22 
Montgomery, PA...........          27.4         469.0      -3.5       128    1,219       5.5        27 
Northampton, PA..........           6.5          97.7      -1.5        17      823       2.1       222 
Philadelphia, PA.........          31.4         624.5      -2.4        50    1,145       4.7        46 
Washington, PA...........           5.4          77.5      -3.7       140      847       4.2        74 
Westmoreland, PA.........           9.4         130.2      -3.9       156      751       3.0       141 
York, PA.................           9.0         168.8      -4.7       215      810       2.9       153 
                                                                                                       
Kent, RI.................           5.5          73.7      -5.1       241      828       5.6        22 
Providence, RI...........          17.7         267.0      -4.0       162      951       1.9       230 
Charleston, SC...........          11.6         198.1      -5.6       263      821       5.1        35 
Greenville, SC...........          12.4         224.0      -4.5       201      820       2.9       153 
Horry, SC................           7.9         100.1      -5.6       263      584       1.4       257 
Lexington, SC............           5.6          93.0      -5.0       231      710       4.1        82 
Richland, SC.............           9.2         205.1      -4.3       184      826       4.7        46 
Spartanburg, SC..........           6.0         111.9      -5.4       253      803       3.7       103 
Minnehaha, SD............           6.5         113.2      -2.5        56      777       5.0        39 
Davidson, TN.............          18.3         418.3      -4.0       162      996       2.2       214 
                                                                                                       
Hamilton, TN.............           8.5         177.4      -6.1       289      821       0.6       292 
Knox, TN.................          10.9         217.2      -4.4       196      835       4.5        58 
Rutherford, TN...........           4.3          93.5      -4.6       209      846       0.4       299 
Shelby, TN...............          19.4         471.5      -5.0       231      971       3.9        87 
Williamson, TN...........           6.0          85.7      -2.9        76    1,012       3.0       141 
Bell, TX.................           4.6         103.5      -0.7         7      741       5.1        35 
Bexar, TX................          33.0         719.1      -1.9        27      843       4.7        46 
Brazoria, TX.............           4.7          84.0      -5.0       231      845      -2.3       323 
Brazos, TX...............           3.9          87.2       (7)         -      695       (7)         - 
Cameron, TX..............           6.4         123.7      -0.8         8      598       2.2       214 
                                                                                                       
Collin, TX...............          17.5         282.4       (7)         -    1,108       5.5        27 
Dallas, TX...............          67.8       1,409.9      -4.3       184    1,129       0.5       293 
Denton, TX...............          10.7         167.9      -1.8        24      827       2.2       214 
El Paso, TX..............          13.5         269.5      -1.7        22      684       6.4        11 
Fort Bend, TX............           8.8         128.9      -3.4       117      954      -2.0       320 
Galveston, TX............           5.2          93.1      -0.2         5      877       5.8        17 
Gregg, TX................           4.1          71.5      -5.6       263      821      -1.2       316 
Harris, TX...............          98.7       1,990.2      -4.3       184    1,195       0.7       288 
Hidalgo, TX..............          10.7         220.4      -1.0        10      598       4.2        74 
Jefferson, TX............           5.9         119.8      -6.1       289      924      -1.5       319 
                                                                                                       
Lubbock, TX..............           6.9         123.9      -2.2        41      718       2.6       180 
McLennan, TX.............           4.9         101.4      -2.0        32      772       7.4         9 
Montgomery, TX...........           8.4         127.1      -2.0        32      879       0.5       293 
Nueces, TX...............           8.0         151.2       (7)         -      794       (7)         - 
Potter, TX...............           3.9          74.9      -2.0        32      798       2.3       208 
Smith, TX................           5.3          92.2      -3.6       134      811       0.4       299 
Tarrant, TX..............          37.3         748.1      -3.1        88      947       3.2       129 
Travis, TX...............          29.5         558.5      -3.3       107    1,036       2.6       180 
Webb, TX.................           4.7          86.0      -3.5       128      619       3.0       141 
Williamson, TX...........           7.4         120.2      -1.9        27      906       1.1       273 
                                                                                                       
Davis, UT................           7.2          99.2      -2.8        70      764       3.0       141 
Salt Lake, UT............          37.5         562.1      -4.1       170      888       4.7        46 
Utah, UT.................          13.0         164.6      -4.4       196      741       1.8       241 
Weber, UT................           5.7          88.5      -5.0       231      705       3.7       103 
Chittenden, VT...........           6.0          93.2      -2.3        47      937       4.6        55 
Arlington, VA............           8.0         160.9       0.5         1    1,594       5.8        17 
Chesterfield, VA.........           7.6         115.0      -4.3       184      852       3.0       141 
Fairfax, VA..............          34.3         574.6      -1.9        27    1,489       5.2        33 
Henrico, VA..............           9.7         169.8      -5.8       276      945       2.9       153 
Loudoun, VA..............           9.2         131.1      -1.9        27    1,141       4.8        43 
                                                                                                       
Prince William, VA.......           7.4         103.5      -0.8         8      848       3.9        87 
Alexandria City, VA......           6.1          98.6      -2.7        64    1,376       4.8        43 
Chesapeake City, VA......           5.7          94.9      -3.8       147      761       6.1        14 
Newport News City, VA....           3.9          96.4      -3.5       128      873       2.6       180 
Norfolk City, VA.........           5.8         138.1      -3.1        88      946       4.5        58 
Richmond City, VA........           7.3         150.2      -3.2       100    1,021       0.9       280 
Virginia Beach City, VA..          11.5         164.4      -3.3       107      756       4.0        83 
Clark, WA................          13.3         126.8      -2.2        41      842       3.2       129 
King, WA.................          82.1       1,119.1      -4.7       215    1,172       3.6       110 
Kitsap, WA...............           6.8          81.6      -1.8        24      858       4.6        55 
                                                                                                       
Pierce, WA...............          21.9         261.4      -3.4       117      846       3.9        87 
Snohomish, WA............          18.9         238.1      -5.2       245      969       4.4        61 
Spokane, WA..............          16.2         198.2      -4.1       170      771       4.8        43 
Thurston, WA.............           7.4          97.3      -2.2        41      830       2.6       180 
Whatcom, WA..............           7.1          77.5      -3.6       134      734       3.7       103 
Yakima, WA...............           8.9          90.9      -2.5        56      640       2.4       197 
Kanawha, WV..............           6.0         105.7      -3.3       107      819       2.4       197 
Brown, WI................           6.7         143.6      -3.6       134      851       3.8        96 
Dane, WI.................          13.9         295.6      -3.1        88      897       2.4       197 
Milwaukee, WI............          21.2         470.3      -4.9       225      948       2.9       153 
                                                                                                       
Outagamie, WI............           5.0         100.3      -4.9       225      792       1.1       273 
Racine, WI...............           4.1          70.5      -6.1       289      867      -1.1       313 
Waukesha, WI.............          12.9         218.1      -6.4       300      919       0.1       304 
Winnebago, WI............           3.7          87.9      -2.5        56      870       1.5       252 
San Juan, PR.............          11.8         276.8      -4.6       (8)      653       4.8       (8) 

(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE) programs. These 334 U.S. counties comprise 71.4 percent of the total covered workers
in the U.S.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Includes areas not officially designated as counties. See Technical Note.
(4) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(5) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic
county reclassifications. See Technical Note.
(6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(7) Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.
(8) This county was not included in the U.S. rankings.











Table 2. Covered(1) establishments, employment, and wages in the 10 largest counties,
fourth quarter 2009(2)
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
                                                                    Employment         Average weekly  
                                                                                           wage(3)     
                                              Establishments,                                          
                                               fourth quarter                                          
         County by NAICS supersector                2009                    Percent            Percent 
                                                (thousands)     December    change,  Average   change, 
                                                                  2009     December   weekly   fourth  
                                                              (thousands) 2008-09(4)   wage    quarter 
                                                                                             2008-09(4)
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
United States(5).............................       9,085.0     128,334.9      -4.1     $942       2.5 
  Private industry...........................       8,790.5     106,313.0      -4.9      942       2.4 
    Natural resources and mining.............         126.9       1,649.6      -8.5      985      -1.1 
    Construction.............................         827.3       5,558.7     -16.2    1,053       0.1 
    Manufacturing............................         349.9      11,484.8     -10.9    1,148       4.9 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....       1,886.7      25,057.0      -4.8      783       2.2 
    Information..............................         145.7       2,766.2      -6.3    1,448       6.4 
    Financial activities.....................         834.7       7,498.6      -4.6    1,422       2.3 
    Professional and business services.......       1,534.3      16,512.5      -4.9    1,237       2.9 
    Education and health services............         876.0      18,597.7       1.6      911       4.5 
    Leisure and hospitality..................         742.6      12,621.7      -2.6      399       2.3 
    Other services...........................       1,261.9       4,343.0      -2.4      589       1.4 
  Government.................................         294.5      22,022.0      -0.4      942       3.1 
                                                                                                       
Los Angeles, CA..............................         434.0       3,926.0      -5.3    1,099       2.0 
  Private industry...........................         430.1       3,342.6      -5.7    1,093       2.4 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5           9.3     -10.6    1,473      16.6 
    Construction.............................          13.6         107.1     -21.2    1,154       1.3 
    Manufacturing............................          13.9         375.8     -10.5    1,169       6.3 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          52.4         752.7      -6.1      858       3.5 
    Information..............................           8.8         199.0      -4.4    2,045       7.2 
    Financial activities.....................          23.2         217.3      -6.1    1,487       1.5 
    Professional and business services.......          42.5         526.0      -8.1    1,339       1.7 
    Education and health services............          28.5         504.6       0.6    1,034       5.6 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          27.4         380.2      -4.5      908      -3.4 
    Other services...........................         204.6         253.7      -1.4      449      -1.3 
  Government.................................           3.9         583.4      -2.4    1,136      -0.4 
                                                                                                       
Cook, IL.....................................         142.6       2,369.9      -4.5    1,142       2.1 
  Private industry...........................         141.2       2,062.3      -5.0    1,141       1.2 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.1           0.9     -11.2    1,071      -0.6 
    Construction.............................          12.2          69.1     -16.0    1,407      -4.6 
    Manufacturing............................           6.8         196.5     -10.1    1,158       3.7 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          27.5         444.4      -5.7      843       0.8 
    Information..............................           2.6          52.1      -5.9    1,622       9.1 
    Financial activities.....................          15.4         190.9      -6.6    2,063       2.0 
    Professional and business services.......          29.5         396.2      -6.7    1,542       0.7 
    Education and health services............          14.5         392.6       1.6      976       5.1 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          12.2         220.9      -2.4      454       2.0 
    Other services...........................          15.1          93.9      -2.9      792       1.4 
  Government.................................           1.4         307.6      -1.0    1,148       8.4 
                                                                                                       
New York, NY.................................         118.1       2,294.4      -3.9    1,878       1.1 
  Private industry...........................         117.9       1,845.7      -4.7    2,072       1.5 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.0           0.1      -8.9    1,795      12.0 
    Construction.............................           2.2          31.0     -15.3    2,062       6.1 
    Manufacturing............................           2.7          27.3     -17.4    1,582       5.2 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          21.0         241.2      -5.5    1,316       1.6 
    Information..............................           4.4         124.9      -7.4    2,144       4.1 
    Financial activities.....................          18.7         345.1      -7.2    4,264       4.6 
    Professional and business services.......          24.6         459.7      -6.3    2,148      -1.1 
    Education and health services............           8.8         298.9       1.3    1,180       4.1 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          11.9         223.7      -1.2      927       3.8 
    Other services...........................          18.1          88.2      -2.0    1,112       1.0 
  Government.................................           0.3         448.7      -0.8    1,087       2.3 
                                                                                                       
Harris, TX...................................          98.7       1,990.2      -4.3    1,195       0.7 
  Private industry...........................          98.2       1,726.5      -5.3    1,225       0.8 
    Natural resources and mining.............           1.5          80.3      -5.9    3,130       9.4 
    Construction.............................           6.6         134.7     -14.5    1,229       1.1 
    Manufacturing............................           4.6         166.9     -12.3    1,494       1.4 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          22.4         421.5      -4.7    1,027      -0.5 
    Information..............................           1.4          30.2      -4.8    1,381      -0.4 
    Financial activities.....................          10.6         114.2      -4.0    1,456      -3.4 
    Professional and business services.......          19.8         311.4      -7.3    1,494       2.5 
    Education and health services............          10.7         232.9       4.0      990       3.3 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.9         175.0      -0.8      414       2.7 
    Other services...........................          12.4          58.7      -2.6      660      -2.4 
  Government.................................           0.5         263.7       2.4      997       1.0 
                                                                                                       
Maricopa, AZ.................................          98.7       1,626.8      -6.5      923       3.4 
  Private industry...........................          98.0       1,407.7      -6.9      920       2.8 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5           7.9      -6.4      857     -16.6 
    Construction.............................           9.8          82.8     -28.5      998       1.1 
    Manufacturing............................           3.3         106.7     -11.5    1,272       4.4 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          22.4         345.4      -5.5      824       3.3 
    Information..............................           1.5          27.5      -6.8    1,227      11.0 
    Financial activities.....................          12.1         134.3      -4.5    1,094       2.5 
    Professional and business services.......          22.3         265.2      -7.9    1,007       1.6 
    Education and health services............          10.3         224.1       3.2    1,037       3.9 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.1         166.3      -5.9      440       4.3 
    Other services...........................           7.1          46.6      -4.6      655       6.0 
  Government.................................           0.7         219.1      -4.0      940       6.6 
                                                                                                       
Dallas, TX...................................          67.8       1,409.9      -4.3    1,129       0.5 
  Private industry...........................          67.3       1,240.9      -4.9    1,144       0.3 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.6           8.3      -0.5    3,746     -22.4 
    Construction.............................           4.2          67.6     -15.9    1,110       3.4 
    Manufacturing............................           3.0         116.5     -11.2    1,279       (6) 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          14.9         288.7      -5.1      997       0.7 
    Information..............................           1.6          45.5      -5.0    1,564       3.2 
    Financial activities.....................           8.6         137.0       (6)    1,427       (6) 
    Professional and business services.......          14.8         251.3      -7.4    1,377       0.0 
    Education and health services............           6.9         162.2       6.1    1,067       1.0 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           5.4         124.9      -3.0      514       4.5 
    Other services...........................           6.9          38.1      -2.2      672      -0.3 
  Government.................................           0.5         169.0      -0.1    1,018       3.2 
                                                                                                       
Orange, CA...................................         102.8       1,361.4      -6.2    1,065       2.0 
  Private industry...........................         101.5       1,215.9      -6.5    1,067       2.2 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.2           3.3     -16.9      637      -5.5 
    Construction.............................           6.7          67.8     -20.0    1,199      -2.1 
    Manufacturing............................           5.1         149.4     -11.1    1,299       6.1 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          16.6         253.8      -6.7      971       3.3 
    Information..............................           1.3          26.0     -10.0    1,546       7.3 
    Financial activities.....................          10.2         104.8       (6)    1,643       3.4 
    Professional and business services.......          19.0         238.5       (6)    1,279       0.6 
    Education and health services............          10.2         152.1       0.0    1,014       5.7 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.1         166.5      -3.1      417       3.5 
    Other services...........................          20.0          47.8      -2.7      556      -0.7 
  Government.................................           1.4         145.5      -3.1    1,048       0.4 
                                                                                                       
San Diego, CA................................          99.4       1,245.3      -4.9    1,019       3.7 
  Private industry...........................          98.1       1,021.4      -5.8    1,005       4.4 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.7           8.6      -7.6      613       4.8 
    Construction.............................           6.7          57.0     -19.2    1,182       3.6 
    Manufacturing............................           3.1          92.0      -9.7    1,411       7.5 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          13.9         205.9      -5.6      785       (6) 
    Information..............................           1.2          36.3      -6.1    2,156       9.8 
    Financial activities.....................           9.0          69.6      -5.1    1,185       0.5 
    Professional and business services.......          16.3         197.0      -6.3    1,320       4.8 
    Education and health services............           8.3         144.6       2.5      990       4.3 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.0         149.2      -6.3      442       3.3 
    Other services...........................          27.7          56.8      -3.6      512       7.6 
  Government.................................           1.3         224.0      -0.9    1,082       0.0 
                                                                                                       
King, WA.....................................          82.1       1,119.1      -4.7    1,172       3.6 
  Private industry...........................          81.6         962.2      -5.4    1,180       3.4 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.4           2.7      -7.9    1,321     -16.3 
    Construction.............................           6.6          48.8     -22.8    1,255       5.0 
    Manufacturing............................           2.4          98.5      -9.4    1,504       3.7 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          15.2         209.1      -5.5      996       4.0 
    Information..............................           1.8          78.4      -4.3    2,016       2.1 
    Financial activities.....................           6.9          66.2      -7.9    1,515       6.4 
    Professional and business services.......          14.5         171.9      -7.5    1,449       5.3 
    Education and health services............           6.9         131.6       1.8      968       8.0 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           6.4         105.8      -2.7      469       4.5 
    Other services...........................          20.5          49.2      12.6      598      -5.7 
  Government.................................           0.5         157.0       0.0    1,122       4.9 
                                                                                                       
Miami-Dade, FL...............................          85.0         959.7      -4.5      949       2.9 
  Private industry...........................          84.6         811.8      -4.7      919       1.7 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5           9.5      -3.2      483       7.3 
    Construction.............................           5.6          32.9     -21.1      980       0.8 
    Manufacturing............................           2.6          35.5     -14.1      914      10.1 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          23.3         242.0      -4.4      834       2.8 
    Information..............................           1.5          17.4      -8.6    1,340       6.3 
    Financial activities.....................           9.5          62.2      -6.2    1,397       0.1 
    Professional and business services.......          17.7         123.4      -7.0    1,215      -1.0 
    Education and health services............           9.6         150.2       3.0      915       1.7 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           6.1         103.5      -1.9      538       6.5 
    Other services...........................           7.5          34.7      -4.9      576      -0.9 
  Government.................................           0.4         147.8      -3.2    1,112       9.3 

(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE) programs.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(4) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic
county reclassifications. See Technical Note.
(5) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(6) Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.











Table 3. Covered(1) establishments, employment, and wages in the largest county by
state, fourth quarter 2009(2)
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
                                                Employment         Average weekly  
                                                                       wage(4)     
                          Establishments,                                          
                           fourth quarter                                          
        County(3)               2009                    Percent            Percent 
                            (thousands)     December    change,  Average   change, 
                                              2009     December   weekly   fourth  
                                          (thousands) 2008-09(5)   wage    quarter 
                                                                         2008-09(5)
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
United States(6).........       9,085.0     128,334.9      -4.1     $942       2.5 
                                                                                   
Jefferson, AL............          18.1         336.1      -5.6      946       2.5 
Anchorage Borough, AK....           8.2         147.6      -0.3    1,005       3.5 
Maricopa, AZ.............          98.7       1,626.8      -6.5      923       3.4 
Pulaski, AR..............          15.1         244.2      -2.7      863       1.6 
Los Angeles, CA..........         434.0       3,926.0      -5.3    1,099       2.0 
Denver, CO...............          25.0         420.2      -4.7    1,154       3.4 
Hartford, CT.............          25.4         486.0      -3.8    1,153       3.6 
New Castle, DE...........          17.8         264.6      -5.9    1,070       1.9 
Washington, DC...........          34.8         686.7      -0.1    1,614       2.7 
Miami-Dade, FL...........          85.0         959.7      -4.5      949       2.9 
                                                                                   
Fulton, GA...............          39.3         697.4      -5.0    1,207       1.9 
Honolulu, HI.............          25.0         435.3      -3.2      875       2.9 
Ada, ID..................          14.5         193.7      -4.9      824       1.5 
Cook, IL.................         142.6       2,369.9      -4.5    1,142       2.1 
Marion, IN...............          24.0         547.0      -3.8      942       3.1 
Polk, IA.................          14.8         265.7      -3.1      933       3.1 
Johnson, KS..............          20.9         298.8      -5.0      982       3.4 
Jefferson, KY............          22.0         409.9      -3.2      908       4.2 
East Baton Rouge, LA.....          14.7         259.1      -3.1      897       2.6 
Cumberland, ME...........          12.3         168.0      -3.2      863       4.7 
                                                                                   
Montgomery, MD...........          32.5         447.4      -2.1    1,294       6.2 
Middlesex, MA............          47.9         803.0      -2.8    1,344       3.5 
Wayne, MI................          31.1         662.6      -7.1    1,036       0.5 
Hennepin, MN.............          40.7         802.6      -4.3    1,152       0.7 
Hinds, MS................           6.3         125.0      -2.4      832       3.4 
St. Louis, MO............          32.1         571.0      -4.7    1,006       1.5 
Yellowstone, MT..........           5.9          75.7      -3.4      768       3.9 
Douglas, NE..............          15.9         312.1      -3.1      874       3.9 
Clark, NV................          49.4         809.7      -7.0      872       1.9 
Hillsborough, NH.........          12.1         188.3      -3.9    1,065       0.2 
                                                                                   
Bergen, NJ...............          34.5         432.8      -3.8    1,205       1.7 
Bernalillo, NM...........          17.5         317.3      -3.7      850       4.4 
New York, NY.............         118.1       2,294.4      -3.9    1,878       1.1 
Mecklenburg, NC..........          32.3         534.2      -5.7    1,042       2.5 
Cass, ND.................           5.9          99.3      -1.4      795       2.1 
Cuyahoga, OH.............          36.7         689.8      -4.7      939       1.2 
Oklahoma, OK.............          24.1         408.0      -4.4      870       1.9 
Multnomah, OR............          28.1         421.9      -4.9      953       1.9 
Allegheny, PA............          35.1         668.8      -2.4    1,003       2.9 
Providence, RI...........          17.7         267.0      -4.0      951       1.9 
                                                                                   
Greenville, SC...........          12.4         224.0      -4.5      820       2.9 
Minnehaha, SD............           6.5         113.2      -2.5      777       5.0 
Shelby, TN...............          19.4         471.5      -5.0      971       3.9 
Harris, TX...............          98.7       1,990.2      -4.3    1,195       0.7 
Salt Lake, UT............          37.5         562.1      -4.1      888       4.7 
Chittenden, VT...........           6.0          93.2      -2.3      937       4.6 
Fairfax, VA..............          34.3         574.6      -1.9    1,489       5.2 
King, WA.................          82.1       1,119.1      -4.7    1,172       3.6 
Kanawha, WV..............           6.0         105.7      -3.3      819       2.4 
Milwaukee, WI............          21.2         470.3      -4.9      948       2.9 
                                                                                   
Laramie, WY..............           3.2          42.6      -3.2      778       3.5 
                                                                                   
San Juan, PR.............          11.8         276.8      -4.6      653       4.8 
St. Thomas, VI...........           1.8          23.3      -2.7      696       3.7 

(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Includes areas not officially designated as counties. See Technical Note.
(4) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(5) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted
for noneconomic county reclassifications. See Technical Note.
(6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin
Islands.











Table 4. Covered(1) establishments, employment, and wages by state, 
fourth quarter 2009(2)
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                                                Employment        Average weekly 
                                                                      wage(3)    
                          Establishments,                                        
                           fourth quarter                                        
          State                 2009                    Percent           Percent
                            (thousands)     December    change,  Average  change,
                                              2009     December   weekly  fourth 
                                          (thousands)   2008-09    wage   quarter
                                                                          2008-09
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
United States(4).........       9,085.0     128,334.9      -4.1     $942      2.5
                                                                                 
Alabama..................         117.5       1,819.9      -4.7      818      3.4
Alaska...................          21.4         302.4      -0.5      959      3.5
Arizona..................         154.1       2,406.2      -6.0      876      3.3
Arkansas.................          86.1       1,136.2      -2.8      725      2.5
California...............       1,374.0      14,476.4      -5.3    1,074      3.1
Colorado.................         171.7       2,183.6      -4.9      965      3.5
Connecticut..............         112.0       1,620.1      -4.0    1,192      2.3
Delaware.................          28.6         398.3      -5.0      960      2.1
District of Columbia.....          34.8         686.7      -0.1    1,614      2.7
Florida..................         599.3       7,208.9      -5.0      855      3.6
                                                                                 
Georgia..................         271.6       3,773.5      -4.9      875      2.6
Hawaii...................          39.3         592.5      -3.7      843      2.7
Idaho....................          55.8         604.3      -4.7      708      2.2
Illinois.................         376.4       5,529.4      -4.6    1,008      2.3
Indiana..................         159.9       2,709.7      -4.3      781      2.2
Iowa.....................          94.6       1,436.2      -3.3      771      2.1
Kansas...................          88.1       1,309.8      -4.4      792      2.9
Kentucky.................         108.2       1,726.2      -3.1      781      3.4
Louisiana................         127.0       1,842.8      -3.5      833      0.4
Maine....................          50.2         579.0      -2.8      759      3.3
                                                                                 
Maryland.................         162.4       2,462.9      -2.8    1,054      4.5
Massachusetts............         215.5       3,142.5      -3.0    1,176      1.8
Michigan.................         252.2       3,767.7      -5.6      913      1.1
Minnesota................         166.0       2,559.4      -3.8      928      2.3
Mississippi..............          70.7       1,076.5      -3.7      697      2.7
Missouri.................         174.3       2,598.7      -3.8      816     -3.2
Montana..................          42.5         419.4      -3.3      695      2.5
Nebraska.................          60.5         896.6      -2.9      756      3.6
Nevada...................          74.9       1,123.2      -6.9      875      1.4
New Hampshire............          48.9         605.8      -3.2      958      2.4
                                                                                 
New Jersey...............         270.8       3,806.6      -2.9    1,143      1.6
New Mexico...............          54.1         787.0      -4.2      794      3.3
New York.................         586.4       8,445.4      -2.6    1,190      1.7
North Carolina...........         251.3       3,802.2      -5.0      818      3.2
North Dakota.............          26.0         353.6      -0.2      752      3.7
Ohio.....................         288.1       4,911.8      -4.9      840      2.9
Oklahoma.................         101.9       1,486.4      -4.8      763      0.9
Oregon...................         130.6       1,593.3      -4.8      829      2.5
Pennsylvania.............         342.0       5,474.5      -3.1      931      3.8
Rhode Island.............          35.3         448.1      -3.5      912      2.9
                                                                                 
South Carolina...........         112.7       1,748.6      -4.9      763      4.4
South Dakota.............          31.0         386.0      -2.4      688      3.8
Tennessee................         140.5       2,572.3      -4.5      849      2.9
Texas....................         567.1      10,146.9      -3.5      944      1.2
Utah.....................          85.7       1,158.1      -4.5      796      3.2
Vermont..................          24.6         296.4      -2.7      804      3.7
Virginia.................         231.7       3,551.6      -2.8      994      4.3
Washington...............         235.0       2,776.6      -3.7      952      3.6
West Virginia............          48.5         693.6      -2.9      752      2.5
Wisconsin................         158.2       2,634.2      -4.4      810      2.1
                                                                                 
Wyoming..................          25.1         266.9      -6.3      831     -2.2
                                                                                 
Puerto Rico..............          50.0         977.6      -5.2      552      4.5
Virgin Islands...........           3.5          43.9      -3.7      746      2.2

(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the
Virgin Islands.






Last Modified Date: July 07, 2010